KAPASA MAKASA UNIVERSITY

PH 110

TUTORIAL SHEET 12

THERMAL EXPANSION AND HEAT TRANSFER

1. An iron railway line is 30m long at a temperature of 27oC. What would be the length of the
railway line when the temperature increases to 57oC? The coefficient of linear expansion of
iron is 1.2 x 10-5 oC-1. 30.01m
2. A pair of eyeglass frame is made of epoxy plastic. At room temperature of 23.4 oC, the
frames have circular lens 2.3cm in radius.
(a) Show that if the frames are heated to fit the lenses 2.32cm in radius, the temperature
required is given by
1 𝐿
𝑇 = 𝑇𝑜 + ( − 1)
𝛼 𝐿𝑜
With α the coefficient of linear expansivity of epoxy plastic.
(b) The coefficient of epoxy plastic is 1.3 x 10-4 oC-1. Calculate the temperature at which the
2.32cm lenses would be fitted into the frames. 90.3 oC
3. An iron ring is to fit snugly on a cylindrical iron rod. At 20 oC, the diameter of the rod is
6.453cm and the inside diameter of the ring is 6.420cm. To what temperature must the ring
be brought if its hole is be large enough so it will slip over the rod? The coefficient of linear
expansivity of iron is 12 x 10-6 oC-1. 448.35oC
4. A brass sheet whose coefficient of superficial expansion is 3.1 x 10-4 oC-1 has its length 40cm
at 10oC. If the surface area at 110oC is 320.1cm2, find the width of the sheet. 8.0cm
5. A glass block of 10 000cm3 volume is heated from 25oC to 40oC. The volume is found to
increase by 4cm3. Calculate the coefficient of cubical expansion of glass. 2.7 x 10-6 oC-1
6. A room has 453cm3 of air at 20oC. If the temperature outside is 40oC, what volume of air
would remain in the room if the window is opened? 419.7cm3
7. A container of glass has a volume 50cm3. It is then filled to the brim with alcohol at 10oC.
The temperature is then raised to 40oC. Will the alcohol spill? If so, how much? Take
𝛾𝑔𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠 = 9 𝑥 10−6 𝑜 𝐶 and 𝛾𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑜ℎ𝑜𝑙 = 1.12 𝑥 10−4 𝑜 𝐶 0.15cm3

1
8. For an isotropic solid, show that the coefficients of expansion α, 𝛽 and 𝛾 are related as
(a) 𝛽 = 2𝛼
(b) 𝛾 = 3𝛼
9. A 100cm3 measuring cylinder made from Pyrex glass is filled with glycerin to the
50cm3mark at 20oC. If the cylinder and content is heated to 40oC, to what mark will the
Glycerin rise? Take 𝛾𝑔𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠 = 3 𝑥 10−6 𝑜 𝐶 and 𝛾𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑜ℎ𝑜𝑙 = 500 𝑥 10−6 𝑜 𝐶 50.5cm3
10. The figure below shows two metal plates of the same dimensions soldered together.

The thickness of each plate is L1 = L2 =3 x 10-3 and metal plate 1 is at 100oC while plate 2 at
0oC. The surface A of metal plate 1 has dimensions 4cm x 2cm. Given that the thermal
conductivity of metal plate 1 is 48.1W/m.K and that of plate 2 is 68.2W/m.K, what is the
temperature of the soldered interface if there is a steady flow of heat from metal plate 1 to
plate2? 41.4oC
11. The interior dimensions of a cooler box are 45cm x 35cm x 30cm. Each wall is 3.75cm thick
and is made from plastic whose thermal conductivity is 0.032W/m.K. If the box is to
maintain an inside temperature of 0oC when the outside temperature is 30oC, how much ice
will melt inside the box each hour? 0.22kg
12. A hot tungsten wire filament has a radius of 0.6cm a temperature of 300K and emissivity
0.74. Calculate the rate of energy emission by a 1.0m length of the wire. Ignore the radiation
received from the surrounding environment. 17.3W
13. A sphere of radius 6.0cm at 1200oC is suspended in a vacuum in an enclosure at 500oC. Find
the rate of loss of heat, assuming that it is a black body. 5.2 x 103W